EHPS Contact

Principal's Report

Dear Parents and Carers,

 

Welcome back to Term 3. The children have really settled in well and we look forward to a very productive and exciting 10 weeks at school. There are several year level excursions, incursions and activities planned for the children. As well there will be whole school celebrations such as Indonesian Day, Book Week, Father’s Day activities and Footy Colours Day that will be very exciting and fun filled days.

NAPLAN 2023

Next week Year 3 and 5 families will receive their children’s NAPLAN results. There has been a change to the reporting of NAPLAN this year. I have provided some information below that will help to clarify the new reporting system. 

 

Changes to NAPLAN reporting

The changes to NAPLAN have been introduced nationally by the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA).

 

NAPLAN will continue to measure student achievement in numeracy, reading, writing, spelling, and grammar and punctuation but the results will now be presented in four proficiency levels.

 

These are:

  • exceeding
  • strong
  • developing
  • needs additional support.

This change will give schools, parents and carers clearer information that details student achievement against new proficiency levels.

 

Students’ NAPLAN reports will continue to show how they are tracking against their peers and provide an indication of their skill levels against national averages and where we would expect them to be in order to get the most out of schooling. This provides valuable information to teachers about how we can continue to support your child.

 

Each set of NAPLAN results is an important milestone but it’s also important that students know that one result does not define them – these results are about making sure every student gets the support they need so they can continue to get the best from their learning.

 

When we provide Year 3 and 5 families with their child’s report, they will also receive information about what the new proficiency levels mean.

 

Feel free to speak to me or your child’s teacher with any questions about these changes.

Semester 1 Reports and Parent Teacher Conferences

Semester One reports are now available through our Compass portal. We encourage all families to read about your child's progress in Semester 1.

Bookings are open on Compass for Parent Teacher Conferences (Monday 24 and Tuesday 25 July), and we encourage you to meet with your child's teacher/s. These meetings are limited to ten minutes. If you require a longer discussion, please organise this with your child's teacher after these meetings have concluded. 

We encourage you to bring along a copy of your child's report to the Parent Teacher Conference, so please ensure that you have read your child's report prior to attendance to facilitate the conversation.

We also remind you to save a copy of your child's reports from Compass to an external source. Access to your child's profile on Compass closes when they leave EHPS, and you won't be able to access any reports. Primary school reports are usually required for secondary school enrolment, so please ensure that you have copies saved in a secure location to access as required.

Assistant Principal

I am pleased to announce that Ms Victoria Gilbert has joined the Principal Team on a part time basis for Term 3. She is an asset to our team, and we are delighted that she can share her expertise for the benefit of our community. Victoria will continue her current role as the classroom teacher for Prep S, three days per week.

Important Deadlines

As you are aware, you will regularly receive notifications on Compass for excursions or events, and they will have a deadline for consent, payment, or an expression of interest. These times and dates are made taking into account the steps and procedures that must take place within the school prior to the event. 

There have been occasions when the school has set a deadline and then parents have missed that time and then contacted the provider of the event directly to see if their child can participate. This is totally inappropriate because the provider is not aware of the limitations and reasons for the deadline that we have set. Their information will only create confusion and is inaccurate from the school’s perspective.

My advice to all families is to continue to regularly monitor your News Feed in Compass and to carefully note specific dates and then check for event updates so that you can confidently meet the set deadlines. In most cases we WILL NOT be able to extend the deadlines for an event and the children will sadly not be able to participate.

Leaving EHPS

Sadly, for a variety of reasons a few children and their families leave Essex Heights each year. If your child is leaving EHPS during this year or at the end of this school year and not returning in 2024, it is essential that you please notify the school as soon as possible. This is required for our planning and preparation for the 2024 school year. Please email me at the school email address - essex.heights.ps@education.vic.gov.au - with the following details:

  • Child's name and 2023 class
  • Date of last day at EHPS (the last day of the 2023 school year is Wednesday 20 December)
  • Name of the school your child is enrolled at 
  • Commencement date at new school (Term 1 2024 commences on Monday 29 January)
  • The reason for leaving EHPS  
  • New contact details, e.g. address, phone number, email

Farewell

We have farewelled the following student and their family from the EHPS community:

  • Adheesha K (4O)

Welcome

We welcome the following students and their families to the EHPS community:

  • Mengqi (Maggie) W (PS)
  • Yan W (PZ)
  • Maria M (1W)
  • Vincent Z (1L)
  • Yifan (Ethan) G (2F)
  • Zoe B (2D)
  • Chloe K (2D)
  • Katarina P (2D)
  • Palaksh M (3L)
  • Victor Z (3HJ)
  • Mengyun (Ella) W (3Z)
  • Ria B (5R)

 

I look forward to seeing you around school.

 

Kindest regards,

George Perini

Principal